


The Idiot on Tinder

by Tamasha



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Boys' Love, Closeted Character, Confessions, Feels, Fluff, Gay, Happy Ending, Kissing, Love, M/M, Modern Era, One Shot, Online Dating, Pachyderms, Relationship(s), Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-08
Updated: 2015-06-08
Packaged: 2018-04-03 11:00:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4098538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tamasha/pseuds/Tamasha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin doesn't know why Arthur is so upset that he has made an account on Tinder.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Idiot on Tinder

**Author's Note:**

> written by Tamara

"Why are you on Tinder, Merlin?"

"Give it back!" Merlin was on top of Arthur, trying to get his phone from his friend. Arthur was stronger and really had the advantage of being on the far side of the couch so Merlin had a hard time reaching his phone. "Arthur!" Merlin whined, admittedly more pathetically than he had intended to sound.

Arthur laughed and pushed Merlin off. "Use your manners, Merlin," Arthur suggested with a deviant smile on his face.

Merlin jumped up from the couch and took his phone easily from Arthur. His friend must have seen his genuine anger because he let Merlin take it without any more fight in him. "You can be a real prat sometimes, you know that?"

Arthur looked truly hurt for a moment, then smiled at Merlin kindly. "Oh, come on, Merlin. Really though, what are you doing on Tinder? The whole okCupid thing was fine for a while; at least it had some substance to it. But Tinder? I thought you wanted a relationship."

Merlin hated how Arthur knew way too much about Merlin’s life sometimes. Then again, it was his own fault for having a prat as a best friend. "I'm just... I don’t know, browsing my opinions," Merlin admitted quietly.

"What are you looking for?" Arthur sat back on the couch and pulled Merlin with him.

By anyone else's standards it would have been considered cuddling, but this was Arthur, and Merlin knew how unfortunately straight he was. Arthur had dated the most random assortment of girls since the sixth grade. From his first girlfriend Elena - who was the messiest girl Merlin had ever met - to his latest girlfriend Gwen - who had cheated on him with his friend Lance - Arthur had pretty much dated every "type" there was. He hugged Merlin tightly, nudging him to speak.

"Okay, I don’t know. I just want to find someone. I am sick of being the only single person in our group of friends. The only other gay people I know are Gwaine and Percival, and even if they weren't dating I still wouldn’t want to date either of them."

Arthur laughed, knowing exactly why Merlin wouldn’t want to date each of them. Gwaine was too abrasive and Percival was too passive. Somehow they made sense together, but neither were right for Merlin. "So you think Tinder is the place to go? We know how unsuccessful okCupid was. Remember George?"

Merlin let out a chuckle into Arthur’s shoulder. He relaxed with the comfort of his friend's proximity. "Yeah, he was terrible. But I am just tired of waiting. I don’t know who I'll meet, but it's a better start than just waiting around for someone. I've been waiting for the right person for years and have had no luck in finding anyone who wants to be with me."

Arthur was silent for a moment then mumbled, "Maybe you aren’t looking hard enough."

A bitter laughed escaped Merlin as he sat up to look at Arthur. "I am 18 years old. I'm going to graduate next year. Yeah, I know I'm young, but most people my age have had at least one relationship. I just feel like I am behind, and gay men are apparently hard to come by."

"But don't you want something more significant than a Tinder date?" Arthur’s tone was earnest, making Merlin pause before answering.

"I don’t know what I want. I want someone to laugh with. To joke with. To hold. I want a friend who will be there for me, and someone I can be there for." Merlin flung himself back on the couch and stared at the ceiling. "I want someone who loves me for me. Is that so hard to find?"

"It's not." Arthur said simply.

"Easy for you to say." Merlin scowled, though he wasn’t sure if Arthur was looking at him. "You've had plenty of girlfriends; you've been loved before. You don’t know how I feel."

Arthur pushed Merlin with his knee playfully. "You're an idiot, you know that?"

Merlin sat up and, for good measure, pushed Arthur back. "Have I ever told you you’re a prat? Because I don't think I say it enough."

Arthur smiled. "All the time. And you're wrong. You are loved."

Merlin groaned and pulled himself from the couch. "It doesn’t count when it's coming from you, Arthur."

Arthur stood with Merlin. "Why is that?"

"Because you're my friend," Merlin sighed, emphasizing the word friend.

"So?"

"So, your love is not the kind of love I'm looking for!" Sometimes Arthur could be so dense Merlin just wanted to smack him across the face.

Then Arthur's face changed so quickly Merlin hardly had time to blink. He looked so legitimately sad that Merlin’s own heart nearly broke with it. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

Arthur managed to be very kindhearted when he wanted to be. Here Merlin was ranting about love and relationships and he forgot that Arthur had just gotten out of a pretty rough one. And now Arthur was trying to be helpful and Merlin just kept pushing him away. Despite Merlin’s better judgment, he decided to take the bait. "Sorry Arthur. No, you're right. You are a good friend. And I appreciate you, a lot. But I'm just talking about a relationship. A boyfriend. You’re a great mate, but I want someone who can give me something more."

"You truly are the biggest idiot I have ever met." Arthur had called Merlin an idiot more times than Merlin - or anyone else on the planet for that matter - could possibly count. But this was the first time it actually sounded like an insult too. This was the first time Merlin had heard the word escape his friend's lips without a fondness behind it.

"Arthur..." Merlin started but he didn’t know what else to say. He felt oddly guilty, even though Arthur was the one calling him an idiot. "What is wrong with you today? Look, who cares if I have Tinder? Who cares if I can't find a boyfriend? Can't we just watch I, Robot like we had planned to do today?"

Planting himself grumpily on the couch, Arthur muttered an agreement. After Merlin had put in the DVD and was about to hit play on the menu screen, Arthur spoke up again. "We are good friends, right?"

Of course they were. Merlin had known Arthur since the fourth grade. There wasn’t a time in Merlin’s life when he didn’t consider Arthur his best friend - even if he could be a prat at times. "Fine, I'll play. Yes, Arthur, you are the best friend I could ever have." Though his words were dripping with sarcasm, both knew how true they were.

"Okay, so what's the difference between those guys on Tinder and me?"

"Erm..." Merlin said slowly, wondering what his very straight friend was getting at. "They want to have sex with me?"

"So it's just a sex thing?" Arthur asked with with a bit of malice.

Merlin put down the remote; they clearly weren’t going to be starting the movie any time soon. "No, Arthur. It's about having someone who will always be there for you. It's about having someone you want to be close to, emotionally and physically. It's more than just the sex, but there is a difference between a friend and a boyfriend." Merlin wondered why he had to spell this out to Arthur.

There was an explanation in the back of his mind, but he kept pushing that down. If that was the case, why would Arthur wait all this time to tell him? If Arthur was - no. Merlin stopped himself from even thinking it. He didn’t want to go through hiding his feelings for his friend again. It nearly ruined their friendship Freshmen year. Merlin had to keep pulling himself further and further away from his best mate, just to rid himself of the thoughts he kept having about him.

Arthur sighed and went for his jacket. "I'm going to go home."

"Wait." Merlin stopped Arthur with a hand on his wrist. "We aren't going to watch the movie?"

"No," Arthur stated, matter-of-factly. "Not today."

Now Merlin was getting angry. If Arthur had something to say to Merlin, he better say it. The pout Arthur had put himself in was getting to be too much. "Oh no you don't, you clotpole. You said you would watch with me. Now either tell me what's wrong or sit down and shut up!" Merlin didn’t realize he was yelling till he stopped speaking.

Arthur hesitated for a quick second. "How are you so dense? Seriously, Merlin? What do you think this is about?"

"I think it's about you being an overprotective friend who doesn't see why I use a stupid app to find a date. I think you're upset because you think I'm making a mistake, and I appreciate the concern, but I can handle myself."

Arthur laughed, his tone suddenly happy. "God, you are an idiot."

"Stop saying that," Merlin spat, confusion building inside of him.

"It's true, though." And there was no malice in his tone anymore. The fondness Merlin was accustomed to had returned tenfold.

Merlin crossed his arms, still standing directly in front of Arthur to block his path to the door. "Shut. Up."

"No you," Arthur piped, then closed the space between them. He waited for Merlin to react, and when he didn’t, Arthur moved in even closer. Before Merlin could register what was happening, Arthur’s lips were already separating from Merlin’s.

"Oh," Merlin said softly. "Now I get it." But then Merlin pulled back, because truthfully, he actually didn't get it. "Wait… you're straight. Aren’t you?"

"Um." Arthur rubbed the back of his head, leaving a tuft of hair sticking out. "I don’t know. I don’t really know what I am."

Merlin wanted to go in and kiss him again. He had wanted to for so long, but he couldn’t just accept that. If Arthur was experimenting, Merlin didn’t want to be just a guinea pig. "But you've dated only girls for as long as I've known you, and when I came out to you in 8th grade you just started talking about girls even more..."

"I know," Arthur conceded. "I just, I've liked people, but... this is weird. This is going to sound so weird. Shit. I shouldn’t have done anything. I'm sorry."

He moved to leave again, but Merlin caught his hand before he could. "Wait. I need to know. You can’t just kiss me and not explain yourself. We've been friends for too long for that to be left unsaid."

"I just. It's not that I'm trying to take advantage of you. I just. Well. I care about you. I always have. I love you more than I love myself. We are best friends. I have been with girls, sure, but only because I thought I had to. But I haven't been interested in them the way I have been interested in you. And I haven't been interested in men that way either. I... there's only really been you, Merlin. I think I've been in love with you since before I even know what sexuality was."

Merlin couldn’t help the shocked expression on his face. He had so many questions about the past, so many what ifs about the future, but Arthur was standing in front of him, more honest than Merlin had ever seen him, and everything Merlin had wanted to hear his best friend say had been said. He couldn’t breathe properly. "Eight years," were the only words he could say.

There was a silence in the room that seemed to take up all the oxygen. Arthur sighed heavily, possibly experiencing the shortness of breath that Merlin was. "I didn’t really understand it myself till I realized how jealous I was that you had made a Tinder account."

"But I've been on dates before."

"Oh, I knew those were going to fail before they even started. Just the fact that you were still looking, while I was right here, hurt." They both moved to the couch, comfort in being honest starting to take hold. Both started to breathe easier now.

"Well, watching the you date so many girls for so long wasn’t exactly a walk in a park." Merlin avoided Arthur’s eyes.

"Wait, you've felt this way too?" Arthur looked too surprised to have faked that response.

"Yeah," Merlin admitted simply. "How could I not be in love with you, Arthur Pendragon?"

"But you never said anything either!"

Merlin smiled, amused that they were arguing even now. "I guess we are even."

"Don't look at me like that," Arthur chuckled nervously. Merlin had never seen Arthur nervous before.

"Like what?"

Merlin continued to smiled at Arthur, slowly leaning in. "Like that...." it was hardly a whisper, but Merlin took the cue.

"Never." As Merlin kissed his best mate of eight years, he realized two things. One, he really enjoyed it - they had wasted a good amount of time not doing this. And two, this was the most obvious thing in the world. They had both been idiots not to see it sooner. There was no one else in the world for either of them, and that was the simplest thing of all.

  


**Author's Note:**

> Tamara was bored at work and wanted to write fluff. :)


End file.
